Wire-coiling machine



No. 609,0". Patented Aug. I6, |898.

J. E. CRIGGAL.

WIRE COILING MACHINE.

(Application filed Nov. 4, 1897.)

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Nn. 609,0". Painted Aug. la, |893.

J. E. CRIGGAL.

WIRE CUILING MACHINE.

(Application led Nov. 4, 1897.

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lNrrnn TATES PATENT Fries.

JOHN E. CRIGGAL,"OF NEWARK, NEV JERSEY.

" WIRE-colLlNc MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,011, dated August 16, 1898. Applicationled November 4, 1897. Serial No. 657,348. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOHN E. CRIGGAL,a citizen of England, residing in Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire Coiling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wire-coiling machines for forming coils or helices in strands of wire; and it has for its main object the provision of an improved mechanism of this class by means of which the leading-in wires of incandescent lamps may be formed at their outer ends into coils or helicesfor receiving the ends of spiral con! ducting-wires carried by the socket or base of a lamp and forming a lamp-neck-'recei'ving socket in substantially the manner shown and described in Patent No. 457,109, granted to me August et, 1891.

One of the main features of my present invention is the provision of a suitable rotary' wire-ceiling device orformer cooperative with a suitable actuating device for rotating the same, either one of these devices being capa# ble of reciprocation for the purpose of rotating the ceiling device or former.

In the preferred form of my invention the coiling device embodies a pair of rotary formers mounted on a slide carried by a suitable guide or guides for reciprocation between two extreme positions, these two formers being so organized with respect to each other and to the actuating means therefor as tobe capable of rotation in unison, so as to wind the two leading-in wires or other wires, as the case may be, to the same extent and form similar coils or helices, it being understood that both of the rotary formers should usually be of the same diameter in order to form coils or helices of the same size. Preferably the rotary formers carried by the slides and which of course move therewith between the twov limits of the range of movement of the slide.`

have suitable gears or pinions for. rotating them, and these pinions may be driven in some suitable ruannei'-as, for instance, by means of a rack or racks, which will usually be fixed on a proper support. This construction, however, may be varied within the scope of this invention so long ascoils in the wires are formed substantially in the manner previously stated. z Although it will be apparent that formers may be employed which will permit the winding of alarge number of coils of ne wire thereabout to form relatively long helices, yet ordinarily a few turns or coils will be sufcient for each wire if the Wires being coiled `are the leading-in wires of an incandescent electric lamp. However, as some means should be provided for removing these coils readily from the formers when the coils or helices are completed, I prefer to employ coiling devices or formers movable longitudinally in suitable bearings, in which they are mounted in such a manner that when the Wires are being coiled these formers will project a sufticient distancefrom the bearings, and when the helices are completed the formers may be withdrawn from the helices and into said bearings to permitthe removal of the coiled wires.

Other features of my present invention re- `late to supporting means forholding the wires or the lamp in which they are embedded, as the case may be, at a desired gaged distance from the formers, by means of which the coils or helices are to be formed in the wires, and also to cutting or4 shearing means for determining in advance the exact lengths ot the `wires to` be coiled, all of which will be described more fullyhereinafter in detail.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specication, Figure lis a plan of a wire-coilin g machine embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional. side y elevationof the same, showing in dotted .lines an incandescent lamp and its leading-in wires supported in position for the latter to be coiled by the machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical transing taken in line 3 3, Fig. 2, and showing the formers projected into position to coil wires thereon. f Fig. 4t is a similar view of a portion of thesame, showing said formers retracted to permit the removal of the coils.

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section of the machine, the` section being taken in-line5`r5, Fig. 2. FigsgG, 7,`and `'Snare plans illustrating successive steps in the operations of de'- Vtermining the length of and ceiling a pair-of leading-in wires of an lincandescentjelectric verse section of the same, the section be- IOO lamp. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine, showing the last step in the operation of coiling said wires.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the iigures of the drawings.

The several operative parts of my improved winding mechanism maybe carried by any suitable frameworkwein for instance, as a base B, of any kind and material. Upon this base in the construction illustrated herein the several principal devices of the machine are mounted directly, these main devices being in this instance a wire-holding coiling device embodying one or more formers and an actuating device therefor, which may be in the form of a rack, one of these devices being reciprocatory for rotating the coiling device, the third main member being a suitable wire holder or support-it being in this instance, of course, a lamp-support-pi'eferably adjustable toward and from the coiling devices, so as to forma gage for determining just how long the leading-in wires of the lamp should be prior to the operation of coiling them. In addition to these main parts,which are mounted directly on the base B, there is another important device-viz., ashear or cutter mounted in this instance on a support or guide carrying a slide which may reciprocate the coiling device proper.

In the present construction I have shown and prefer to use a coiling device mounted on a slide-such, for example, as that shown at 2-for reciprocation between two eXtreme positions, this slide being in the present instance carried by parallelguides, such as 3 and 3,and supported by the walls of parallel channels in the inner edges of the latter. These guides maybe mounted on suitable supports carried by the base B, said supports being indicated herein by 4. The coiling device proper embodies as its essential features one or more rotary formers, preferably two in number, supported on the slide 2, so as to rotate in unison while reciprocating in unison with said slide. These two formers are designated herein by f and f, and they are supported in suitable bearings on the slide 2. Said formers, which are supported, respectively, in the bearings 6 and GQ are not, however, formed each in one piece, but instead each is made up of two main members, one of which is in the nature of a sleeve and is supported for rotation in its respective bearing 6 or 6 on the slide, but is held so that it will not move longitudinally, while the other main member is rotatable with, but is prevented from rotating relatively to, such sleeve and is movable longitudinally with respect to such sleeve. The two members of the rotary former f are designated herein by 7 and 8, respectively, and the corresponding members of the former f' by 7 and S', respectively.

The two members 7 and 7' constitute the coiling devices or formers proper, and in this instance are supported in any suitable manner in the bores of the sleeves 8 and S', rotary movement of the coiling members 7 and 7 relatively to their respective sleeves 8 and S being prevented in any suitable manner, as by means of pin-and-slot connections, such as that shown clearly in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

For the purpose of enabling the two sleeves 8 and 8 to turn freely in the bearings 6 and 6 without moving longitudinally relatively thereto the sleev'es may be peripherally grooved, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and roundpointed screws, such as 9 and 9, may pass through the walls of the bearings and into said grooves. At the upper ends thereof the sleeves 8 and 8 may have projecting stops, such as 10 and 10', which form means for engagin g the ends of the wires at the beginning of the coiling operation, although, of course, the wires may be held in place in any other suitable manner. For the purpose of operating the slide 2 I employ a suitable knob and spindle, (designated in a general way by K.)

As before stated, the two former devices are intended to be rotated in unison, and in the present case the former-spindles 7 and 7 have secured thereto suitable gears or pinions by means of which the movements of a rack or other operating device may be imparted to the coiling devices. These gears on the former-spindles may advantageously be in the form of long pinions, such as 12 and 12', in order that they may maintain their operative connection with the rack or other actu ating device when they are moved from one to the other of their extreme vertical positions.

For the purpose of connecting the two formers so that they will reciprocate in unison in the sleeves 8 and 8 I make use of the usual connecting-plate, such as 13, which may be operated by a threaded rod, such as 14, screwed into the center of the plate and working in a longitudinal bore in a screw 15, connecting the slide and the actuating device or rack. At its upper end the head of the rod 14 may be grooved peripherally to receive the recessed end 16 of a spring 16, by means of which in the construction illustrated the two former-spindles 7 and 7 will be held normally in their uppermost positions, as shown in Fig. 3. Obviously the range of movement of the former-spindles in a Vertical direction will be determined by the upper end of the screw 15 and the upper ends of the pinions 12 and 12'.

The actuating device by means of which the pinions 12 and 12' are rotated in this instance may be of any suitable type, but will preferably be in the nature of a duplex rack,

Asuch as r, comprising two single racks, such as 17 and 17', the former of which is so positioned as to engage the pinion 12 and the latter the pinion 12'. Obviously when the slide 2 is reciprocated these racks will form resistance-drivers for rotating the pinions in unison,but in opposite directions. In addition to forming an actuating device for the pinions 12 and 12 this duplex rack also has a IOO IIO

longitudinal slot therein, the inner end wall of which forms a stop for limiting the inward movement of the slide, while the outward movement of the latter may be determined by stops, such as those shown at 18.

For the purpose of reducing the two Wires to be coiled to the proper length, especially when these are the leading-in wires of an incandescent lamp, I may make use of suitable shearing or cutting means which may be mounted in any proper manner, preferably on the guides 3 and 3', said shearing means being designated herein in a general way by s and comprising a fixed plate 19 and a swinging shear or cutting blade 20, operative in the usual manner.

In order to determine the position of the other end of the wire or wires when the latter is or are to be of a definite length, I may make use of some suitable wire support, such as that indicated herein by g, and which is clearly shown in Figs. l and 5. This support is preferably centrally slotted as shown at 2l, and may be secured in any desired adjusted position, as by means of a clampingscrew 22. In the construction illustrated it constitutes an incandescent-lamp supportv and has a large opening therein adapted to receive the neck of the lamp, this opening being designated by 23 and being preferably substantially in the form of a key-slot intersectin g the upper edge of the support in order to provide a space for the entrance of the leading-in wires. This support constitutes a gage and is coperative with the shear to determine the length of the wire or wiresto be coiled. l

The operation of my improved windingmachine will be clearly understood by reference to Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, in the former of which an incandescent-lamp bulb of any suitable type (designated herein by b) is illustratedand has sealed thereinto the usual leading-in wires w and w which are to be coiled. It is to be noted that both of these wires are somewhat longer than is necessary and that when inserted between the two blades of the shear they will be reduced to the proper length, as will be apparent by referring to Fig. 6. In this view also the manner in which the wires are held between the stops l0 and l0 and the former-spindles 7 and 7 is shown clearly. As soon as the knob K is pushed in the slide 2 will move toward the neck of the lamp-bulb, and the formers will be rotated, whereupon the two wires w and w will be coiled around the projecting ends of the respective formerspindles 7 and 7', the coiling operation continuing until the slide reaches the limit of its inward movement, as shown in Fig. 8, at which time each wire will have formed therein a series of coils or turns constituting a closely-wound helix. To remove the two helices from the former-spindles, the spring 16 should now be depressed, whereupon the former-spindles will be retracted within the sleeves 8 and 8', and hence will be withdrawn from said helices, whereupon the lamp may be moved from its support andthe knob K drawn back to its original position.

It will be noticed, especially by referring to Fig. 9, that the upper ends of the sleeves 8 and 8' constitute stop-walls for supporting and locating the first coil of each helix, thus assuring the proper and tight winding of the several superposed coils or turns;

It will be obvious that by means of my improved winding-machine the length of' the wire or wires in which the coils are to be formed may be gaged denitely and also the position of each coil or helix in the length of its wire, and this is a matter of very great importance in winding such coils in the leading-in `wires of incandescent 'elecric lamps, for which use my improved winding-,machine is especially designed.`

Having described my invention, I claiml. In a wire-coiling machine, the combination, with a wire-holding coiling device embodying a bearing and a rotary former reciprocatory in said bearing longitudinally of its axis of rotation, of an actuating device for rotating said former, one of said devices being reciprocatory for effecting such rotation of the former.

2. In a wire-coilin g machine, the combination, with a wire-holding coiling device embodying a bearing, a rotary member, and a former rotatable in unison with the rotary member and reciprocatory longitudinally of its axis of rotation, of an actuating device for rotating said former, one of said devices being reciprocatory for edecting such rotation of the former.

3. In a wire-coiling machine, the combination, with a slide, of a pair of bearings on said slide; simultaneously-rotative formers mounted for reciprocation in said bearings; and a resistance-driver for rotating said formers on the reciprocation of the slide.

4. In a wire-coiling machine, the combination, with-a wire-holding coiling device'embodying a bearing, a rotary former reciprocatory in said bearing, and a spring for normally holding said former in position for coiling' wire thereon, of an actuating device for rotating said former, one of said devices bel ing reciprocatory for effecting such rotation of the former.

5. In awire-coiling machine, the combination, with a slide, of a pair of bearings `on said slide; simultaneously-rotative formers mounted in said bearings and connected for reciprocation in unison; a spring for normally holding said formers in positionfor coiling wires thereon; and a resistance-driver for rotating said formers on the reciprocation of the slide.

G. In a wire-coiling machine, the combination, with a slide, of a rotary former mounted for rotation on said slide; a resistance-driver IOO IIO

for rotating said former on the reoiprocation of the slide; and shearing means for determining the length of the Wire to be coiled.

7. In a Wire-coiling machine, the combination, with a slide, of a rotaryT former mounted for rotation on said slide a resistance-driver for rotating said former on the reoiprooation of the slide; shearing means; and a gage oooperative with said shearing means for deter- Io mining the length of the Wire to be coiled.

8. In aWire-coiling machine, the combina- 

